Podcast

More foreign dairy products found unsafe

Updated: 2010-09-02 11:19

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The amount of unsafe foreign dairy products seized during transport is on the rise amid public concern over unsafe milk formula in China.

A report on substandard imported food and cosmetics released by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) over the past weekend said a total of 402 tons of unsafe dairy products were returned or destroyed in June.

The amount far outnumbers the 22 tons in April and 27 tons in May. It is also 10 times more than the 40 tons of unsafe dairy products seized in June 2009, according to the agency.

Among the products seized in June this year, 401 tons were milk formula, making up 99.8 percent of the total.

Data showed the problematic milk formulas were from countries and regions including New Zealand, Singapore, the US, Australia, France and Taiwan.

Problems with the products included the presence of a bacteria that can lead to infection, as well as excessive amount of nitrites, zinc and total bacterial counts, the report said.

Hunan Huayi Trading Co topped the list as the importer of 201 tons of unsafe milk formula from Australia in June and 131 tons from France in March.

The company is listed on hncredit.gov.cn, a website run by the Hunan Enterprise Information Management Bureau, as a registered foreign trade cooperation started in June 2003.

Animal byproducts are on the company's listed scope of business. Company officials could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Wang Dingmian, former chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Dairy Association, said the rising number of unsafe imported dairy products is mainly due to the increasing domestic demand for foreign dairy products.

The latest figures from China's General Administration of Customs show that in the first five months of this year, China imported 310,000 tons of dairy products, up 28.6 percent from last year.

Questions:

1. How much unsafe imported dairy products were returned in June?

2. How much of that was milk formula, and where were they from?

3. What is thought to be the main reason?

Answers:

1. A total of 402 tons of unsafe dairy products were returned or destroyed in June.

2. Among the products seized in June, 401 tons were milk formula, from countries including New Zealand, Singapore, the US, Australia, France and Taiwan.

3. The rising number of unsafe imported dairy products is mainly due to the increasing domestic demand for foreign dairy products, said Wang Dingmian, former chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Dairy Association.

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is fluent in Korean and has a 2-year-old son.